Tim Connelly probably had a better chance of finding $1,000 on the street as he walked toward the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago on Tuesday night than he had of celebrating the spoils of a top-three pick inside the hotel where the 2018 NBA draft lottery was held.

The daydreaming about Luka Doncic, the Slovenian whiz kid, or DeAndre Ayton, the Swiss Army Knife of a center from Arizona, it was all fun for a day, but the Nuggets were never meant to fly into the mix for this draft’s elite prospects. Instead, the Nuggets went all 2017 Cleveland Browns, falling to 0-16 in their history when it comes to moving up in the lottery order. It’s a small wonder, given its tortured lottery past, that Denver didn’t find a way to defy the event’s rules and actually move back in the draft order.

When the obvious became reality Tuesday night, the ESPN cameras panning to Jamal Murray as Denver was locked into the 14th overall pick in next month’s draft, the...